New educational resource launched to help tackle the rise of 'Andrew Tate type attitudes'

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth has vowed to tackle the ‘toxic Andrew Tate type’ attitudes through early education by launching a new digital resource to help drive culture change around sexual harassment and misogyny.

Through the all new ‘It All Adds Up’ resource, young people across Northumbria will be encouraged to watch a series of short films to spark discussion and help raise awareness and educate.

The learning materials have been developed by Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland and have been funded through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. They will be available to schools, youth leaders and educators and can be downloaded online for free.

The resource has been developed following widespread concerns over youngsters being exposed to the social media content of online influencer Andrew Tate - in which he expresses extreme views about women. PCC Dungworth's office has received many messages from educators seeking support with tackling this in the classroom to help with behaviours they are seeing that reflect misogynistic and sexist ideology.

The materials are an extension of the #ItAllAddsUp digital campaign that was launched last year featuring a series of impactful videos shared across social media channels. The films showcase the experiences of women and girls in the North East - bringing to life real, everyday interactions and misogynistic behaviours and the impact on women and girls.

The films feature women of different cultures, ages and sizes to highlight how sexual harassment happens to all women. They’re experiencing harassment in different settings too, such as on the bus in a rural community, with a child in a park or when popping to the shops in broad daylight. Research says 71% of women of all ages in the UK have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space and most women blame themselves.

PCC Dungworth said: "Ultimately, we need young men and boys to be anti-Andrew Tate. We need them as allies. If we allow twisted viewpoints to seep into people’s minds, we are allowing them to potentially develop into abusive, violent behaviours. Young people are inundated with a lot of harmful content online and I want us to counter that by showing them how women are impacted every day with misogynistic attitudes.

"Along with so many parents, teachers and police, we want to take action that will help prevent youngsters growing up into future Andrew Tate types roaming the streets.

"I remember seeing Rape Crisis share the films online last year, before I was PCC, and they really made an impression on me so I am delighted we can put them to further use and get them in front of key audiences. The films have been praised for their truth and authenticity - with so many women telling us how they relate to them and also men saying they see this stuff going on and it makes them think.

"Now we want to encourage these types of discussions in the classroom or at the youth club. The earlier we get in front of young people, involving them in the conversation, calling out behaviours and raising awareness of how they can impact women, the better. We want to help teachers who have felt left in the dark about how to tackle this sort of topic. But it’s not just a job for our teachers, we all need to speak out and call out harmful attitudes and behaviours whether you’re a teacher, a friend, a colleague – it’s a problem for society and society as a whole needs to respond."

Sue Pearce, CEO of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN), said: "This resource goes live on November 4 for use in educational spaces for young people between the ages of 14-18 and is also for professionals that work with that age group. This means an awful lot to RCTN as it is raising awareness about sexual harassment."

Jamie Allinson, deputy CEO at RCTN added: "We really hope that the benefits of the resource will be that it can be used to educate and inform children and young people about sexual harassment and the impact that this has on women and girls. We’ve developed the resource following our previous campaign about sexual harassment.

"We’re really excited to share this to support in the educating of children and young people within the North East, and we’re really pleased to have worked closely with the Police Crime Commissioner during its development. You can find out more on our website."

The pack, which can be downloaded from RCTN.org.uk includes lesson plans, presentations, films and activity sheets tailored for young people aged 14-18.

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